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List of most massive stars
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List of most massive stars
This is a list of the most massive stars that have been discovered, in solar mass units (M☉).
Most of the masses listed below are contested and, being the subject of current research, remain under review and subject to constant revision of their masses and other characteristics. Indeed, many of the masses listed in the table below are inferred from theory, using difficult measurements of the stars' temperatures, composition, and absolute brightnesses. All the masses listed below are uncertain: Both the theory and the measurements are pushing the limits of current knowledge and technology. Both theories and measurements could be incorrect.
Since massive stars are rare, astronomers must look very far from Earth to find them. All the listed stars are many thousands of light years away making their light especially faint, which makes measurements difficult. In addition to being far away, many stars of such extreme mass are surrounded by clouds of outflowing gas created by extremely powerful stellar winds; the surrounding gas interferes with the already difficult-to-obtain measurements of stellar temperatures and brightnesses, which greatly complicates the issue of estimating internal chemical compositions and structures. This obscuration leads to difficulties in determining the parameters needed to calculate the star's mass.
Both the obscuring clouds and the great distances also make it difficult to judge whether the star is just a single supermassive object or, instead, a multiple star system. A number of the "stars" listed below may actually be two or more companions orbiting too closely for our telescopes to distinguish, each star possibly being massive in itself but not necessarily "supermassive" to either be on this list, or near the top of it. And certainly other combinations are possible – for example a supermassive star with one or more smaller companions or more than one giant star – but without being able to clearly see inside the surrounding cloud, it is difficult to know what kind of object is actually generating the bright point of light seen from the Earth.
More globally, statistics on stellar populations seem to indicate that the upper mass limit is in the 120-solar-mass range, so any mass estimate above this range is suspect.
Eclipsing binary stars are the only stars whose masses are estimated with some confidence. However, note that almost all of the masses listed in the table below were inferred by indirect methods; only a few of the masses in the table were determined using eclipsing systems.
Amongst the most reliable listed masses are those for the eclipsing binaries NGC 3603-A1, WR 21a, and WR 20a. Masses for all three were obtained from orbital measurements. This involves measuring their radial velocities and also their light curves. The radial velocities only yield minimum values for the masses, depending on inclination, but light curves of eclipsing binaries provide the missing information: inclination of the orbit to our line of sight.
Some stars may once have been more massive than they are today. Many large stars have likely suffered significant mass loss – perhaps as much as several tens of solar masses. The lost mass is expected to have been expelled by superwinds: high velocity winds that are driven by the hot photosphere into interstellar space. The process forms an enlarged extended envelope around the star that interacts with the nearby interstellar medium and infuses the adjacent volume of space with elements heavier than hydrogen or helium.
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List of most massive stars
This is a list of the most massive stars that have been discovered, in solar mass units (M☉).
Most of the masses listed below are contested and, being the subject of current research, remain under review and subject to constant revision of their masses and other characteristics. Indeed, many of the masses listed in the table below are inferred from theory, using difficult measurements of the stars' temperatures, composition, and absolute brightnesses. All the masses listed below are uncertain: Both the theory and the measurements are pushing the limits of current knowledge and technology. Both theories and measurements could be incorrect.
Since massive stars are rare, astronomers must look very far from Earth to find them. All the listed stars are many thousands of light years away making their light especially faint, which makes measurements difficult. In addition to being far away, many stars of such extreme mass are surrounded by clouds of outflowing gas created by extremely powerful stellar winds; the surrounding gas interferes with the already difficult-to-obtain measurements of stellar temperatures and brightnesses, which greatly complicates the issue of estimating internal chemical compositions and structures. This obscuration leads to difficulties in determining the parameters needed to calculate the star's mass.
Both the obscuring clouds and the great distances also make it difficult to judge whether the star is just a single supermassive object or, instead, a multiple star system. A number of the "stars" listed below may actually be two or more companions orbiting too closely for our telescopes to distinguish, each star possibly being massive in itself but not necessarily "supermassive" to either be on this list, or near the top of it. And certainly other combinations are possible – for example a supermassive star with one or more smaller companions or more than one giant star – but without being able to clearly see inside the surrounding cloud, it is difficult to know what kind of object is actually generating the bright point of light seen from the Earth.
More globally, statistics on stellar populations seem to indicate that the upper mass limit is in the 120-solar-mass range, so any mass estimate above this range is suspect.
Eclipsing binary stars are the only stars whose masses are estimated with some confidence. However, note that almost all of the masses listed in the table below were inferred by indirect methods; only a few of the masses in the table were determined using eclipsing systems.
Amongst the most reliable listed masses are those for the eclipsing binaries NGC 3603-A1, WR 21a, and WR 20a. Masses for all three were obtained from orbital measurements. This involves measuring their radial velocities and also their light curves. The radial velocities only yield minimum values for the masses, depending on inclination, but light curves of eclipsing binaries provide the missing information: inclination of the orbit to our line of sight.
Some stars may once have been more massive than they are today. Many large stars have likely suffered significant mass loss – perhaps as much as several tens of solar masses. The lost mass is expected to have been expelled by superwinds: high velocity winds that are driven by the hot photosphere into interstellar space. The process forms an enlarged extended envelope around the star that interacts with the nearby interstellar medium and infuses the adjacent volume of space with elements heavier than hydrogen or helium.